The Bilingual Temptation: Notes on Publishing Beyond One Language

What every multilingual writer should know before launching a bilingual newsletter

Let us begin, not with technology, but with doubt.
The kind of doubt that gnaws at writers in the night: Should I write in another language? Should I divide my voice in two?

In this age of newsletters and instant delivery, Substack offers us a stage, a platform, a mirror. But it does not offer miracles. It will not translate your soul. That task, noble, unwieldy, still belongs to you.

I. Substack: The Apparatus

Substack, in its current incarnation, does not yet cater natively to multilingual publishing. It offers no language toggles, no audience segmentation by tongue. There is but one publication, one feed. It assumes, as many do, that English shall suffice.

And yet, you may wish to write in Spanish, French, Arabic, or Tagalog — not because English fails you, but because it cannot always carry your reader home.

There are three roads before you:

1. The Two-Language Scroll — both tongues coexisting in one post, side by side like bilingual prayer books.

2. The Twin Publications — two Substack newsletters, each in its own tongue, each growing (or not) in its own garden.

3. The Alternating Echo — one week in English, the next in Urdu, hoping your readers forgive the silence half the time.

Each has its virtues. Each, its perils.

II. But First, Ask Yourself

Before you translate a single word, interrogate your intent.
Are you reaching new minds, or merely flattering your polyglot impulse? Are you sure your audience needs another language — or is your ideal reader already reading you in English, nodding quietly, somewhere between Bogotá and Beirut?

Ask harder questions:

• Who, precisely, are you writing for?

• Will a second language grow your world, or fracture it?

• Do you have the time to write twice — not just translate, but reimagine?

• Can you sustain this doubling of the self?

And finally: how will you know it worked?

III. On Effort and Its Measure

Effort in bilingual publishing is not linear. It multiplies.
Translation, adaptation, formatting, QA — the rhythm of writing changes when each sentence must wear two coats.

So measure not just clicks and opens, but returns. Did the Spanish version bring in readers who stayed, who paid, who responded?

If the answer is yes, rejoice — your words crossed a border.
If the answer is silence, reconsider. The silence may be instructive.

IV. What the Algorithm Sees

Ah, yes. The algorithm, that blind demiurge. It watches things we rarely think about: time spent, scroll depth, growth velocity, comment density. It does not care for noble intentions or cultural nuance.

Substack’s discovery engine favours cohesion and completion. If your post has two languages, readers who stop halfway (as they often will) may signal a false drop-off. If you create two publications, you split your energy and your reader base.

Yet — here lies the paradox — a well-segmented, culturally coherent publication in Spanish may grow faster than your diluted, bilingual one. You must choose whether to risk fragmentation or starvation.

V. The Shortcut: Let Machines Try First

If you cannot write in multiple languages — or not yet — you may let the machines take the first pass.

Google Translate offers a crude but workable solution. Though Substack does not allow JavaScript-based language switchers, you can create simple translation links for your readers:

🌍 **Read this in your language**:  
- [🇪🇸 Español](https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=es&sl=auto&u=https://juliadiez.substack.com)  
- [🇫🇷 Français](https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=fr&sl=auto&u=https://juliadiez.substack.com)  
- [🇩🇪 Deutsch](https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=de&sl=auto&u=https://juliadiez.substack.com)

Place these near the top or bottom of your posts. You may even create a dedicated “🌐 Language Options” page and link to it weekly.

This is the result, cool isn’t it?

For example, read this post in Spanish here.

But a note of caution:
This method is best suited for technical content — posts heavy on information and light on nuance. If your writing is rich in metaphor, idioms, cultural references, or personal voice, avoid machine translation. Google Translate does not understand poetry, irony, or heartbreak. It cannot carry meaning across borders without breaking it.

Use it, if you must — but do not trust it with your soul.

VI. The Opportunity

I came across this note on Substack that raises a timely point: most newsletters are still written in English, despite growing global demand for native-language content.

According to German‑language analysis by Ciler Demiralp (quoted via Wikipedia):

87.2% of Substack newsletters are in English

2.1% in Spanish

2.4% in Portuguese

1.6% in French

1.5% in Italian

0.5% in German

4.7% in other languages

This imbalance opens up opportunity. In many locales, competition is low, discovery is easier, and niche audiences are hungry for relevant, culturally resonant content.

Why Now Might Be the Right Time

• Substack is actively expanding global features and support.

• Native-language readers are underserved in key verticals like AI, parenting, and sustainability.

• Standing out is easier when you’re not one of 500 similar newsletters.

But Consider This First…

Before launching, ask yourself:

• Do I have the time and energy to maintain a second publication consistently?

• Is there a clear audience for this subject in the target locale and language?

A new-language newsletter is only worth it if you can commit and your message truly resonates with that market. But if the fit is right, the timing has never been better.

VII. A Closing Confession

I can write in seven languages.
I’ve spent two decades navigating the intricacies of localization and internationalization — from string tables to marketing tone, from software constraints to cultural subtext. If anyone is “qualified” to publish bilingually, it’s probably me.

And yet, I choose to write this newsletter only in English.

Why?
Because my target audience already understands it, and I don’t want to fragment my audience. We are better together. Because if you're interested in software internationalization, global go-to-market, or working in localization at scale — then English is not optional. It’s the native tongue of the field. The conceptual core of much of what we do was written in English first, and it often stays truer in its original phrasing.

If I were to write in Spanish—and I just might—it wouldn’t be a translation of this newsletter. It would be a new one entirely, crafted from the ground up for a different reader. The point is, I wouldn’t translate the message—I’d rethink it for the people I’m speaking to.

This, right now, lives in English — because that’s where its heart and audience meet.